Yes you read correctly, some recent research conducted in the UK has found that smoking is associated with a substantially reduced risk of developing rosacea.

The study was epidemiological which means that it used statistics to match the incidence of rosacea in smokers and non-smokers in a random grouping of individuals.

Why Are Smokers Much Less Likely to get Rosacea?

Typically an epidemiological study can’t say why such associations exist, only prove their existence. It is the task of further research to establish the reason and any subsequent implications for treatment etc.

Other Nicotine and Rosacea Research

We learnt in 2008 from some NRS funded research that “The activation of nicotine receptors appeared to be associated with a significant increase in intracellular calcium, and also stimulated two major signaling proteins that may trigger a cascade of biochemical reactions associated with rosacea.”

So there will certainly be some debate about what the statically significant reduction in rosacea is smokers in the UK really means.

Other Results in This Study

• Rosacea has been diagnosed in the UK in 1.65 / 1000 person-years. By my calculation this would translate to around 13% of the population of the UK having rosacea by the time they reach the life expectancy of 80 years.
• Rosacea was diagnosed in 80% of cases after the sufferer was 30 years of age.
• Ocular Rosacea was found in 21% of cases of rosacea.
• Alcohol consumption was associated with a marginal risk increase.

As the study was funded by Galderma perhaps the incidence results would be the most interesting outcomes for them.

Latest Abstract

A Study on the Epidemiology of Rosacea in the UK.

Br J Dermatol. 2012 May 5, Spoendlin J, Voegel JJ, Jick SS, Meier CR.

Basel Pharmacoepidemiology Unit, Division of Clinical Pharmacy and Epidemiology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland Hospital Pharmacy, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland Galderma Research & Development, Sophia Antipolis, France Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University, Lexington, MA, USA.

Background: Rosacea is a chronic facial skin disease of unclear origin. Epidemiological data are scarce and controversial with reported prevalences ranging from 0.09% to 22%. To our knowledge, incidence rates have not been quantified before.

Objectives: In this observational study we quantified incidence rates of diagnosed rosacea in the UK and described demographic characteristics and the prevalence of ocular symptoms in rosacea patients. We compared life-style factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption between rosacea patients and controls.

Methods: Using the UK-based General Practice Research Database, we identified patients with an incident diagnosis of rosacea between 1995 and 2009 and matched them (1:1) to rosacea-free control patients. We assessed person-time of all patients at risk and assessed incidence rates of rosacea, stratified by age, sex, year of the diagnosis, and region.

Results: We identified 60,042 rosacea cases and 60,042 controls (61.5% women). The overall incidence rate for diagnosed rosacea in the UK was 1.65 / 1,000 person-years.

Rosacea was diagnosed in some 80% of cases after the age of 30 years. Ocular symptoms were recorded in 20.8% of cases at the index date. We observed a significantly reduced relative risk of developing rosacea among current smokers (odds ratio 0.64, 95% CI 0.62-0.67). Alcohol consumption was associated with a marginal risk increase.

Conclusions: We quantified incidence rates and characteristics of rosacea patients diagnosed in clinical practice in a large epidemiological study using primary care data from the UK. Smoking was associated with a substantially reduced risk of developing rosacea.

Not Time to Take up Smoking

Despite the strong result from this statistical research, I doubt whether any doctor would recommend that you take up rosacea to reduce your chances of getting rosacea.

In fact you will probably find the opposite, that the health risks associated with smoking will see doctors advising smokers to give up altogether.

Any Smokers Out There?

Have you noticed a reduction in rosacea symptoms when you were a smoker ?

Related Articles

• Smoking and rosacea

The Daily Mail continues to show itself as the premier newspaper for rosacea related news stories.

This last weekend the paper has a great article highlighting a new corrective surgical treatment for rhinophyma.

Typically rhinophyma surgery is risky and can lead to complicates with bleeding and scarring.

The new technique highlighted by The Daily Mail is called Coblation.

What is Coblation?

Coblation uses a wand that utilises a tip with a focused `beam of energy’.

The tip uses radio frequency energy to excite (i.e. vibrate) the salt molecules in a saline solution.

The amount of energy focused in the plasma tip is enough to excise and even dissolve skin. Thus the wand becomes a bit like a three dimensional scalpel, allowing the surgeon to reshape the nose tissue.

The temperature of the wand is relatively low compared to other techniques which helps with controlling the resulting bleeding as well as reducing any burn related scarring.

How salt-blasting surgery cured my disfiguring condition called ‘drinker’s red nose’

By ROGER DOBSON

PUBLISHED: 21:07 GMT, 12 May 2012 | UPDATED: 22:23 GMT, 12 May 2012

A team of British surgeons reported major improvements in patients’ appearance, with the size of noses shrinking by a third or more, and disappearance of the red colouring.

One of the first patients to have the procedure, known as coblation, is John Clough, 64, who developed rhinophyma about 15 years ago. The semi-retired marketing consultant says having the treatment has changed his life.

…

John, who lives in Blackburn, Lancashire, with his partner Angela, 58, an accountant, eventually was referred to surgeon Michael Timms at The Royal Blackburn Hospital, who was about to begin trialling the coblation treatment.

‘They jokingly described it as being like sandblasting with salt, and warned me that I wouldn’t want to go out for a few weeks afterwards because it would  look bad,’ says John.

…

During the procedure the patient  is put under general anaesthetic. A hand-held coblation ‘wand’ emits a slow stream of saline solution – sterilised salt water – from the end that comes into contact with the nose.

At the same time, it emits waves of radiofrequency energy to excite the molecules in the solution which ‘sands’ down the tissue. It also uses a low  heat to cauterise (clot) any bleeding blood vessels.

John says: ‘I had a general anaesthetic and the whole thing took about  20 minutes. It was day surgery – I went home in the late afternoon, with a cream that had be applied everyday.

‘It looked pretty awful. Essentially, I’d had hundreds of layers of skin filed away leaving a raw wound, which scabbed over. But after the first day  I didn’t need painkillers and it looked far worse than it felt.

‘I’d say my nose has reduced by about one third in size, back to what it was when I was younger. It is much smoother, and has lost the red colouring. In fact, it is slightly paler than my other skin now. It’s an absolutely brilliant result.’

Related Articles

• How to cure a Red Swollen Nose
• Rhinophyma (Permanent Rosacea Nose) Research Updates
• Treating Rhinophyma with Accutane (roaccutane, isotretinoin)
• Rhinophyma (red swollen nose) Myths: Alcohol and Cancer
• Treating Rhinophyma with X-Rays
• Latest Rhinophyma Treatment: Microdebrider + Floseal
• Treating Rhinophyma (large swollen nose) with ER:YAG Laser

Rhinophyma: Erbium YAG + CO2 Laser

News today that the giant pharmaceutical company Novartis International is buying Fougera Pharmaceuticals.

Fougera is known to rosacea sufferers through the availability of generic metronidazole 0.75%. Fougera will brings its specialty in generics to Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis.

Who is Novartis?

Novartis was previously the manufacturer of Elidel (Pimecrolimus cream 1%).

Novartis are also trialling BFH772 for the redness of rosacea (NCT01449591). BFH772 is also being trialled for Psoriasis (NCT00987870).

BFH772 appears to be a metrondizaole variant of some sort, perhaps a genuine competitor to Metrogel 1%.

Hopefully this further signals Novartis as a company willing to invest in treatments for rosacea.

Press Release

Novartis to Buy Fougera Pharmaceuticals for $1.5 Billion

BY MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED

Novartis International agreed on Wednesday to buy Fougera Pharmaceuticals, a maker of generic skin care medicine, for $1.525 billion in cash. The move would make the company the biggest manufacturer in the field.

It is the latest round of consolidation in the health care industry, a sector that has had a number of deals over recent weeks.

Under the terms of the deal, Fougera will be folded into Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis. The acquisition would give Novartis a leading position in generic treatments for ailments like acne, eczema and rosacea. The combined business will have an estimated $620 million in annual global sales, mostly in the United States.

Related Articles

• Generic Metrogel soon – Fougera
• Is Elidel still Available?
• Taro Readying for Generic Metrogel 1%
• Metronidazole (Metrogel, Flagyl) User Reviews
• Question: Where can I buy Generic Metrogel?

Live in the UK? Interesting in being a part in the My Naked Secret 2 series? The producers of this Channel 4 programme, who are based in London are looking to feature someone who suffers from rosacea.

The Assistant Producer says “The show is very positive and offers people psychological help with their underlying issue and treatment from top surgeons and specialists in the UK. It would be very interesting to feature someone with rosacea in the series, and put them in touch with specialist who could potentially treat their condition.”

Good publicity for and the promotion of the best practices for treating rosacea can only be a good thing. I’d love to see someone who was brave enough to show their rosacea face to the country.

Actually, if you have watched many episodes of My Naked Secret you will meet people with really quite embarrassing problems that can give perspective to rosacea sufferers.

What a great way to raise the profile of rosacea, especially in the UK. Contact details for the programme are below.

Is there something you hate about your body that you want to change?

Is it affecting your confidence and you want to do something about it?

Maverick Television, the Producers of Embarrassing Bodies are making the next series of ‘My Naked Secret’ and we want
to help. We are looking for men and women who might have conditions such as:

• Vitiligo
• Keloid Scarring
• Rosacea
• Psoriasis
• Excess Hair
• Acne Scarring

If you want help with any of the above or any other secret body issue please get in touch.
E-mail: mynakedsecret@mavericktv.co.uk or call 0207 874 6692 for more information.

Related Articles

In a series of 6 videos, Cynthia Nixon who played Miranda in Sex and The City, talks about her battle with rosacea. The professionally produced videos point viewers to the Galderma sponsored web site rosaceafacts.com.

As well as hearing how Nixon has struggled with treating her skin that would flare up, we also hear that a trip to your dermatologist is the best place to start.

No prescription or over the counter products are mentioned but of course it would be in the interest of Galderma if the dermatologist suggests popular rosacea prescription items as a treatment option.

The public service announcement, as the promotion is described – is in conjunction with the National Rosacea Society who also get a mention. April is designated as Rosacea Awareness Month by the NRS.

Nixon reveals that she would suffer from rosacea flareups that were triggered by red wine, spicy foods, exercise and hot baths.

I was pleased to also see the benefits of a gentle skin care system promoted.

You can view the videos at the rosaceafacts.com web site, at the YouTube RosaceaFacts User Stream, or also embedded below.

Celebrities To the Rescue ?

Whatever you think about celebrities being used to highlight rosacea, it can only be a good thing when professionally produced campaigns like this are given wide publicity.

Rosacea Facts Videos

Cynthia Nixon’s Rosacea Story

Cynthia Nixon’s Rosacea Story

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7_itiQbEck)

Triggers

Rosacea Triggers

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky4GGhFSV3s)

Rosacea 101

Rosacea 101

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xawa2s4OGPU)

Skin Care

Rosacea Skin Care

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RiRNTeoBQU)

Types

Rosacea Types

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qXC-VkHk3c)

Treatment

Rosacea Treatments

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I5BWyYuN-I)

Related Articles

• Mariah Carey has rosacea ? celebrities as advocates ?
• So apparently Prince William has rosacea now too
• How Collagenex (Galderma) are Promoting Oracea
• Galderma wants to own the Rosacea Market

What is crowdsourcing?

Well crowdsourcing is a new buzzword which basically means to get your information from the “crowd” or as many people as you can. Online this term generally means something like “just asking everyone on the email list” or “post to that forum where thousands will see it”.

The premise of the paper is that over time, the authors hope that online groups will become the source of high volume, high quality clinical trial data.

Large scale clinical trials are extremely expensive. There may well be scope for survey based trials to become cheaper and more convenient by using online sites like curetogether.com

CureTogether Rosacea Section

Indeed curetogether.com does have a small rosacea section where you can list your symptom severity in order to gain a score and compare yourself to other members. Around 180 members have listed their symptoms thus;

(click for larger image)

Other Related Research

I did also find a somewhat related interesting project based at CureTogether;

The Skin Disease Race is ON!

CureTogether is excited to announce a new research project we’re collaborating on. Researchers Suephy Chen, Adam Sperduto, and Bob Swerlick at Emory University are doing a study to compare whether online recruiting methods can beat their traditional in-clinic recruiting methods.

Abstract

Letter: Crowdsourcing for research data collection in rosacea

April W Armstrong MD MPH, Caitlin T Harskamp BA, Safia Cheeney MS, Clayton W Schupp PhD

Dermatology Online Journal 18 (3): 15

Abstract: Several medical crowdsourcing sites are available to patients online, but few studies in the literature have compared crowdsourced data to clinical trials. Herein, we compare data from rosacea patients from a major medical crowdsourcing site with those from randomized controlled trials.

Crowdsourcing in medical research is the process of outsourcing health-related data collection to groups of people or communities. Crowdsourced data have the potential to inform clinicians on treatment effectiveness in real-world patient populations. Although several medical crowdsourcing sites are available to patients online, few studies in the literature have compared crowdsourced data to clinical trials [1, 2]. In this study, we examined how data from rosacea patients from a major medical crowdsourcing site, CureTogether (curetogether.com), compare those from randomized controlled trials.

…

Whereas limitations of the currently available crowdsourced data include low numbers of patient responses, unspecified medication dosages and duration, and unknown medication adherence rates, improvements in crowdsourcing over time will likely enable collection of high-volume, high-quality data that reflect real-world patient experiences.

Furthermore, different outcomes measures used on the crowdsourcing site from those in the clinical trials inhibit direct comparison of the treatment responses.

For example, whereas lesion count or Investigator Global Assessment was used in the clinical trials, Likert scale was used on the crowdsourcing site. Thus, innovations in deploying validated measures for crowdsourcing – although still enticing the online users – will be key to collect high-quality crowdsourced data. In summary, crowdsourcing has the potential to yield high-volume data from diverse patient populations. With future improvements in the standardization of data collection, crowdsourcing could provide valuable insight into real-world treatment effectiveness.

Powell has been a consultant dermatologist at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin, Ireland for 25 years. He has received rosacea research grants from the NRS, has been on the Medical Advisory Board of the NRS since 2000 and was also a co-author of the ground-breakingStandard Classification of Rosacea and the companion Standard Granding System for Rosacea.

Even though you may not have been able to sit in on the discussion, you can still benefit from reading his book.

Scientific Sessions

American Academy of Dermatology, 70th Annual Meeting

D013 Rosacea

Director: Frank C. Powell, M.D.

Following this discussion group, the attendee should be able to:

1. Recognize the clinical spectrum of rosacea.
2. Select the appropriate treatment for each subtype of rosacea.
3. Discuss current research and etiologic theories relating to rosacea.

This discussion group will begin with a review of the historical background of rosacea.

The clinical spectrum of what constitutes rosacea will be presented with emphasis on the importance of distinguishing the different subtypes of this disorder.

Treatment options will be outlined with practitioners guided to the most appropriate therapeutic approach to each subtype of rosacea.

The discussion group will then focus on current research and etiologic theories relating to each subtype of the disorder with the potential for new therapeutic approaches to be developed.

Related Book

Available at Amazon.com

Related Articles

For some background on Prof. Powell and his research into rosacea, see the 3 articles;

• Rosacea Sufferers Less Interested in Alternative Medicine
• Demodex Mite Bacteria Causes the Inflammation ? 
• Rosacea: Its All In The Follicles !

Children require special attention when presenting with acne as some of the adult treatments may be unsuitable for children.

The guidelines offer advice for adolescent acne, preadolescent acne, infantile and neonatal acne.

First-Ever Acne Treatment Guidelines for Children Revealed

By: BRUCE JANCIN, Family Practice News Digital Network

03/13/12. EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM THE SDEF HAWAII DERMATOLOGY SEMINAR

WAIKOLOA, HAWAII – New acne management recommendations from the American Acne and Rosacea Society are the first guidelines to specifically address pediatric acne.

Acne is a common problem, and the presentations and differential diagnosis differ among the various ages of childhood and adolescence. We had a strong desire to increase recognition and improve management of pediatric and adolescent acne across the spectrum of primary and specialty care," explained Dr. Lawrence F. Eichenfield, cochair of the guideline-writing panel comprised of general pediatricians, pediatric dermatologists, and acne experts.

…

Publication of the guidelines is pending, he noted. In the meantime, physicians can obtain an introduction to the guidelines, including full details of the treatment algorithms, while earning 1 hour of CME credit by viewing a 56-minute video featuring Dr. Eichenfield and other guideline panelists at www.acneandrosacea.org.

The AARS video is definitely worth viewing if you are looking for more information on how best to treat acne in children.

Video Link: AARS CME Webinar: National Pediatric Acne Guidelines of Care

Related Articles

• NRS Acknowledges Children Can Get Rosacea
• Ocular Rosacea in Children

Maruho Co., Ltd. Acquires Cutanea Life Sciences, Inc.

Cutanea to Become a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Maruho

OSAKA, Japan, Feb 13, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Mr. Koichi Takagi, President and CEO of Maruho Co., Ltd, headquartered in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, announced today the acquisition of Cutanea Life Sciences (CLS), a privately held dermatology development company based in Villanova, Pennsylvania USA. CLS will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maruho. Mr. Takagi stated that the acquisition of CLS represents an important step in building Maruho’s infrastructure and capabilities in the United States.

We learnt in 2006 that Cutanea were trialing Omiganan for rosacea. The treatment is known as a topical cationic peptide. This treatment has anti-inflammatory properties that were promising for acne. Now the developers are planning to trial it next year against rosacea.

CLS001 (omiganan pentahydrochloride) is described as “a novel cationic antimicrobial peptide in development for the treatment of inflammatory papules and pustules associated with rosacea”.

Further; “CLS001 is formulated in an aqueous based topical gel.  It is designed to provide cosmetic elegance with minimal irritation.  Cutanea believes that CLS001 will offer the following advantages: rapid onset of action, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, and non-detectable systemic absorption, thereby causing minimal adverse side effects.”

Omiganan is in the list of 9 New Rosacea Treatments.

Related Articles

• Cutanea Life Sciences files IPO to fund Omiganan development
• What’s Hot in New Rosacea Treatments?
• Trial Watch: New Treatments Coming Soon
• Why Do New Drugs take SO LONG to be Developed?
• 9 New Drugs in Development for Rosacea

Finding the right practitioner to treat you with IPL is not an easy task. This is a real dilemma for rosacea sufferers as we do know that IPL is Excellent for Rosacea.

Woman scarred by skin treatment

Kate Bastians, The West Australian, Updated January 21, 2012, 3:00 am

Perth women are being left with scars and severe burns caused by amateur beauty therapists performing a popular hair removal and skin treatment without proper training.

A Joondalup woman has told how her chest resembles a chequerboard of excruciatingly painful burns after receiving Intense Pulsed Light treatment for sun spots two weeks ago.

…

The woman, who received the treatment from a woman who had set up a home business, feared she would be scarred for life and wanted to warn others about the complications that may arise from the treatment.

…

The WA Australian Medical Association and the Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia have called on the Health Department to introduce standards for the booming IPL industry, which is unregulated.

…

The Department of Consumer Protection received 21 inquiries and 10 complaints about IPL last year, which included reports of burns and scarring. That was up from 15 inquiries and one complaint in 2010.

Chris Goodwin, director of the Australian College of Beauty Therapy in Perth, said people were buying cheap IPL machines off the internet and using them on people without appropriate training.

"They think it sounds like a great money-making exercise and they get two days training and that’s it," she said. "There are too many cases where people are getting badly burnt and I think the Health Department needs to act."

AMA WA vice-president Richard Choong said there had been an increase in reports of people receiving burns from IPL treatment as it became more readily available.

Related Articles

• IPL London Spa Burn Victim Awarded Tens of Thousands in Damages
• News anchor gets burned by photo facial
• IPL burns from "Top London Spa"
• Photoderm Blisters: First, Do No Harm
• What is the difference between IPL and Laser?